Erie Airbnb zoning decision headed to court

Wednesday

An Erie neighborhood group is asking a judge to step into a dispute over a residence that is listed for short-term rentals on Airbnb.

The Glenwood Association on Wednesday filed an appeal of the Erie Zoning Hearing Board's finding that renting the property on the Airbnb site does not violate its permitted use as a single-family dwelling in the Glenwood neighborhood.

The appeal asks that an Erie County judge overturn the decision, which was announced at the board's November meeting.

"The action of the Zoning Hearing Board ... was arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion and contrary to law in several particulars," the appeal states.

It was filed by Erie lawyer Thomas Kuhn on behalf of the Glenwood Association, which covers more than 250 homes, said Tom Sebald, a resident of the neighborhood who has been at the forefront of the Airbnb dispute.

The appeal takes issue with the board's findings, arguing that the city's zoning ordinance excludes "structures used for transient residence" from the definition of the term "dwelling" — and that the short-term rentals occurring at the property make it more akin to a motel than a single-family dwelling.

"Our key argument the whole time was the transient nature of the rentals, and transience is pretty specifically spelled out within the zoning ordinance," Sebald said Wednesday. "They (the Zoning Hearing Board) just totally ignored that concept as it applies in this situation, and we simply disagree with that."

The appeal also claims that the board failed to consider the "detrimental impact" of short-term rentals on the neighborhood, including "noise, traffic and parking uses, safety issues, threatening and disruptive behavior, guests' parties, loss of privacy, reduction in property values, constant influx of strangers."

The Zoning Hearing Board issued its decision after Sebald in October appealed a determination by the city's zoning office that the Airbnb property, at 4706 Upland Drive, was not violating its permitted use as a one-family dwelling in the Glenwood neighborhood, which is zoned R-1, for single-family residential.

The term "dwelling," according to the city’s zoning ordinance, cannot include hotels, motels or other structures used for transient residency of less than 30 days.

Sebald argued that the property should be reclassified as "other structure for transient occupancy," a use that is not permitted in an R-1 district under the city's zoning rules.

His appeal to the Zoning Hearing Board took the city into largely uncharted waters — the zoning ordinance is silent on Airbnb, which was founded in 2008 to connect travelers with locals who have rooms or residences available for short-term stays.

The board voted 4-1 that the property was not in violation of its permitted use. But the board members emphasized, according to their written decision, that their finding was "based on how the City Ordinance is currently written."

"It needs to be addressed better," Sebald said Wednesday. "I think they need to go through the process of getting the zoning law changed if they want to allow for stuff like that. We just fundamentally disagree."

The Zoning Hearing Board will have an opportunity to respond to the appeal in court.

The owner of the Upland Drive property, Susan Morse, could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon. Morse told the Zoning Hearing Board in October that her sister manages the property's Airbnb rentals while Morse lives part-time in Florida.

Morse has said previously that renting the residence on Airbnb brings visitors and revenue to the city.

"I'm bringing money and revenue to the city, and I’m keeping a nice, beautiful property," she said previously.

Madeleine O'Neill can be reached at 870-1728 or by email. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNoneill.

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